


Smoke and Mirrors

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (2012) RPF, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Barista!Dean, Best bro!Armitage, M/M, Playboy!Aiden, Slow Build, and Martin and Jimmy fucking shit up because they're awesome like that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-26 15:40:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/651888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dean is the new guy who just moved to London, Richard is his next door neighbor, Jimmy and Martin are funny and snarky, and Aidan just wants to get into Dean's fine pants.</p><p>(based on a prompt from the kink meme)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smoke and Mirrors

Photography had always been Dean's passion, ever since he was young he'd always been fascinated by each camera he came upon and what they could do. He'd always believed that true beauty was a thing meant to be captured and cherished, to be seen over and over without the fade of age or time to affect it. Whether it was the never-ending hills of his homeland or the smile of his own mother, he'd have to savour and admire it. And to his then younger mind it was a magnificent coincidence that one of his favourite devices just happened to have the ability to preserve anything that retained an element of being beautiful. 

But, even after graduating high school, he knew that the odds of being discovered as some prodigal photographer were definitely not in his favour. The career options concerning his preference were sparse and few in between in -- which is something he'd hate to admit really, being patriotic and all -- New Zealand. So that's the biggest affecting reason reason why, when he was just shy of 25, he packed up his few important belongings -- photo frames, clothes, his well over $1000 camera, laptop, mobile -- and booked a flight for London, England.

And one man moving overseas was hardly anything remarkable -- his parents cried when he left and his friends hugged him for a little longer than usual -- so he wasn't surprised that the only place he could afford the rent was a two room apartment that leaked in winter.

He ended up meeting the guy who'd later come to be his best friend three days after moving what little he had into the apartment. His new 'home' had faded cream walls and the entrance way to the bathroom/toilet had a strip of murky red carpet he'd already tripped over a dozen times. The place inside was hardly five star or luxury but he convinced himself that, once he became renowned worldwide, it'd become good material for a chapter in his autobiography. The hallway outside was probably the cleanest thing in the entire building -- the man he'd talked to eariler about renting a spot was vacuuming the outside carpet when he'd walked in -- but no matter how slightly better it was compared to the inside of his apartment, anything connected to his room seemed to be cursed by its level of overall stingyness. He soon found out that his door had a bad habit of ceasing up around his key and that no amount of pulling would free it. 

"Shit, fuck, shit." Dean moaned out from beneath two frowning brows. He had work in twenty minutes and if he wanted to catch the bus on time then he'd have to leave in less than five minutes.

"Are you alright?" A person cleared their throat from behind him.

Dean hissed again down at the lock and spun around to face the unknown other. In front of him stood an impossibly tall man at least a foot higher than himself, he had dark hair and striking looks, and was wearing a thick leather jacket that happened to push Dean's buttons in all the right ways. He must of been silent for a little too long because the stranger stuffed his hands into his pockets and spoke again, "Hello?"

Dean snapped back and smiled hesitantly, "Yes, Hi! I'm just trying to wrestle my key free from my door but it seems to prefer staying where it is right now." And he really should be hurrying off and instead ask the landlord for another one later but, really, he thought that might seem a bit insensitive and rude. 

"Ah, I'm not surprised that has happened to you too." Tall, dark and handsome grinned. He moved forward and reached out, "Is it alright if I just--" He trailed off when Dean stepped to the side and gestured for the door. With a yank to the lock and a nice view of the expanse of his back for Dean, he pulled back and raised his arm, Dean's small grey key laid precariously out on his palm. Dean tried to refrain from gaping but at the time all he could think of was that this man must be a miracle worker if he managed to tear the damned key from the possessive lock. Or maybe he was just a modern day King Arthur that could save any key like the sword from the stone or something? 

Smiling widely, and shaking himself free of his daze, Dean took the offered key, "Thank you so much, man. How the hell did you manage that?"

He got a smaller smile in return, "It's the same with my door; you have to pull the key down towards the ground and _then_ twist, otherwise it doesn't want to let go at all." 

Checking his watch, Dean could almost cry in relief, if he left now then he'd make the bus and not get fired. He was feeling absolutely radiant and, after tucking his key into his pocket, couldn't help standing up onto his tiptoes to press a quick kiss to the other's cheek; he used one hand to hold the opposite cheek in place so he wouldn't topple over and let his lips make quick, hard contact with stubbled skin for a brief second. When he was flat on his feet again he stepped back, "Thanks again, really! The name's Dean and you're a saint, man."

His newly proclaimed hero in question was standing still with a startled look on his face. Two delayed blinks later and a light flush dusted his features, "It's no problem, ah, Dean. It's Richard by the way, and um, are you all so forward in New Zealand?"

Dean had to take a second to process that and when he did, he couldn't stop the loud bark of laughter escaping from his throat, "I should hope not, the place is crazy enough already. I've gotta shoot off, Richard, but it was nice meeting you. You seem like a great guy." He backed away and waved at the still frozen frame of Richard, only getting a response when he was all but from view. 

 

;

 

forgot to mention, this fic will have a slow build, i think? i'm hoping to get it properly fleshed out and well past the general margin for fills over at the kink meme :3 and bro!armitage because he's absolutely lovely and would ofc be a gentleman to tourist!dean. other pairings should crop up as well btw and the aidean meeting is going to be awesome with pretty lights and lots of music (if that's a clue enough). hope you guys like this short first part ;u;


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